Made In Harlem: El Pueblo Se Levanta

Thursday, March 14th, 6:30pm@ the Museum of the City of New York1220 5th Avenue Made In Harlem: El Pueblo Se LevantaThird World Newsreel, 1971, 50 minIn the late 1960s, conditions for Puerto Ricans in the United States reached a breaking point. Produced in 1971, the hard-hitting documentary focuses on the poverty and oppression of New York City's own East Harlem. Narrated by the people it portrays, the film captures the dual compassion and militancy of the activist group the Young Lords as they began to take direct action to improve the conditions of their community. Join us for a screening of the film, followed by a talkback with historians, activists and others.

Speakers include Juan González, former Young Lord, journalist (Democracy Now, The Daily News) and author of Harvest of Empire: A History of Latinos in America, and Bev Grant, one of the film’s creators.

This program is part ofMade In Harlem: Class of ‘68Fall 2018- Spring 2019In the wake of the assassination of Martin Luther King (April 4th, 1968) and the subsequent riots throughout America’s tapestry of urban centers – a fruitful reformer’s zeal possessed the U.S. which lead in part to the dawn of Black and Ethnic Studies programs, and the first community colleges. More locally in Harlem the Studio Museum was founded, as well as the National Black Theater, and El Museo del Barrio. As well in 1968, galvanized by the assassination of MLK, the New York City Ballet’s first African American star Arthur Mitchell (1934-2018) began teaching at the Harlem School of the Arts, and formed what would become the Dance Theater of Harlem in 1969.

Made in Harlem: Class of ’68 unpacks and explores the period before, during, and after the birth of these key cultural institutions in Harlem, as well as their impact, a period where Black Power, the Civil Rights Era, and Black Arts Movement coalesced and helped forge new aesthetics, politics, understandings and philosophies – the legacy of which is found everywhere throughout the planet in the early 21st century.

As Harlem, the United States, and the planet goes through rapid transformation there is hunger and yearning for context, understanding and literacy of our shared, and often erased history. This is an opportunity to quench that thirst. Made in Harlem is programmed by Jessica Green.

This screening is also part of the Museum of the City of New York's Activism on Film series, which delves into stories of social activism in New York City inspired by our ongoing Activist New York exhibition. It is co-presented by Third World Newsreel.